Tuesday, January 15, 2008

WHEREAS, the United States Conference of Mayors has long been concerned about substance abuse and its impacts on cities of all sizes; and

WHEREAS, this Conference recognizes that addiction is a chronic medical illness that is treatable, and drug treatment success rates exceed those of many cancer therapies; and

WHEREAS, according to the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 112,085,000 Americans aged 12 or over (46.1% of the US population aged 12 and over) have used an illicit drug at least once; and

WHEREAS, the United States has 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prisoners, incarcerating more than 2.3 million citizens in its prisons and jails, at a rate of one in every 136 U.S. residents—the highest rate of incarceration in the world; and

WHEREAS, 55% of all federal and over 20% of all state prisoners are convicted of drug law violations, many serving mandatory minimum sentences for simple possession offenses; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution at it 74th Annual Meeting opposing mandatory minimum sentencing on both the state and federal levels and urging the creation of fair and effective sentencing policies; and

WHEREAS, drug treatment is cost-effective: a study by the RAND Corporation found that every additional dollar invested in substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.46 in societal costs, a reduction that would cost 15 times as much in law enforcement expenditure to achieve; and

WHEREAS, the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study shows substantial reductions in criminal behavior, with a 64% decrease in all arrests after treatment, making public safety a primary beneficiary of effective drug treatment programs; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted a “Comprehensive National Substance Abuse Strategy” at its 69th Annual Meeting, and a “Comprehensive Drug Prevention and Treatment Policy” at its 66th Annual Meeting, both of which called for treatment to be made available to any American who struggles with drug abuse; and

WHEREAS, federal, state, and local costs of the war on drugs exceed $40 billion annually, yet drugs are still widely available in every community, drug use and demand have not decreased, and most drug prices have fallen while purity levels have increased dramatically; and

WHEREAS, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), only 35% percent of the federal drug control budget is spent on education, prevention and treatment combined, with the remaining 65% devoted to law enforcement efforts; and

WHEREAS, over one-third of all HIV/AIDS cases and nearly two-thirds of all new cases of hepatitis C in the U.S. are linked to injection drug use with contaminated syringes, now the single largest factor in the spread of HIV/AIDS in the U.S.; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Conference of Mayors has, on three separate occasions, adopted resolutions in support of expanded access to sterile syringes by people who inject drugs as a public health strategy to decrease the transmission of blood-borne diseases and provide links to treatment without increasing drug use; and

WHEREAS, virtually all independent analyses have found ONDCP’s drug prevention programs to be costly and ineffective: the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently found that both the National Youth Anti-Drug Media campaign and the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program have not only failed to reduce drug use, but instead might lead to unintended negative consequences; and

WHEREAS, blacks, Latinos and other minorities use drugs at rates comparable to whites, yet face disproportionate rates of arrest and incarceration for drug law violations: among persons convicted of drug felonies in state courts, 33% of convicted white defendants received a prison sentence, while 51% of black defendants received prison sentences; and

WHEREAS, women are the fastest growing prison population in theU.S., increasing by over 700% since 1977, to 98,600 at the end of 2005. Drug law violations now account for nearly one-third of incarcerated women, compared to one-fifth of men; and

WHEREAS, at year end 2005, over 7 million U.S. residents—about 3.2% of the adult population, or 1 in every 32 adults—were incarcerated or on probation or parole, of whom 28% were under correctional supervision for a drug law violation; and

WHEREAS, at its 73rd and 72nd Annual Meetings, the U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution to promote the successful reentry of people leaving prison or jail, through job training, transitional housing, family reunification, drug abuse and mental health treatment, and the restoration of voting rights; and

WHEREAS, the cost of local law enforcement and of providing services to formerly incarcerated residents is borne primarily by local governments; and

WHEREAS, cities across the country have experienced a rise in violent crime and must prioritize scarce law enforcement resources, yet the nation’s police arrested a record 786,545 individuals on marijuana related charges in 2005—almost 90% for simple possession alone—far exceeding the total number of arrests for all violent crimes combined; and

WHEREAS, there is no easy, “one-size-fits-all” solution to substance abuse and drug-related harms: individual cities, counties, and states face unique challenges and therefore

require local flexibility to pursue those policies that best meet their specific needs;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the United States Conference of Mayors believes the war on drugs has failed and calls for a New Bottom Line in U.S. drug policy, a public health approach that concentrates more fully on reducing the negative consequences associated with drug abuse, while ensuring that our policies do not exacerbate these problems or create new social problems of their own; establishes quantifiable, short- and long-term objectives for drug policy; saves taxpayer money; and holds state and federal agencies accountable; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that U.S. policy should not be measured solely on drug use levels or number of people imprisoned, but rather on the amount of drug-related harm reduced. At a minimum, this includes: reducing drug overdose fatalities, the spread of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis, the number of nonviolent drug law offenders behind bars, and the racial disparities created or exacerbated by the criminal justice system; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that short- and long-term goals should be set for reducing the problems associated with both drugs and the war on drugs; and federal, state, and local drug agencies should be judged – and funded – according to their ability to meet specific performance indicators, with targets linked to local conditions. A greater percentage of drug war funding should be spent evaluating the efficacy of various strategies for reducing drug related-harm; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a wide range of effective drug abuse treatment options and supporting services must be made available to all who need them, including: greater access to methadone and other maintenance therapies; specially-tailored, integrated services for families, minorities, rural communities and individuals suffering from co-occurring disorders; and effective, community-based drug treatment and other alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent drug law offenders, policies that reduce public spending while improving public safety; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Conference supports preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and other infectious diseases by eliminating the federal ban on funding of sterile syringe exchange programs and encourages the adoption of local overdose prevention strategies to reduce the harms of drug abuse; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the impact of drug use and drug policies is most acutely felt on the local communities, and therefore local needs and priorities of drug policy can be best identified, implemented and assessed at the local level. A successful national strategy to reduce substance abuse and related harms must invest in the health of our cities and give cities, counties, and states the flexibility they need to find the most effective way to deal with drugs, save taxpayer dollars and keep their communities safe.

Monday, January 14, 2008

"Hunger and homelessness persists in American citiesA report by the US Conference of Mayors"http://www.citymayors.com/features/uscity_poverty.html

Dear Mayors,

Until the word's most useful and nutritious agricultural resource is reintroduced into a truly free market, then scarcity will continue to be imposed, while the black market erodes the commons, and is thus enriched. The fundamentally destabilizing effects of the so-called "drug war" go far beyond drug policy issues, resulting in imposed essential resource scarcity, hunger and epidemic malnutrition.

Please see:

1. Hempseed as a nutritional resourcehttp://www.finola.com/HempseedNutrition.pdf

In addition, the industrial uses of Cannabis include organically grown biofuels, paper, cloth, plastics, and building materials. Abundance and even distribution of wealth are being under-mined by the failed, yet impacted, economics of prohibition.

Because of its potential for mitigating climate change, Cannabis agriculture is no longer optional. The potential for monoterpenes produced in abundance by Cannabis, to effect radiative forcing, is the final argument in determining the urgency of implementing Cannabis agricultural research and seed production projects.

"Understanding the impact of short-lived radiatively active species on future climate is critical and recently has become an active area of research in the reviewed literature. These types of studies encompass a realistic time frame over which available technological solutions can be employed, and focuses on those gas and aerosol species whose future atmospheric levels are also subject to mitigation to control air pollution."

Marc Emery's case is to law what Katrina was to disaster relief -- inarguable proof of consumate disfunction. Such injustice institutionalizes further oppression, as the foundations of civilization are eroded.

Article One in the U.S. Bill of Rights and all international treaties specifically protect everyone's "freedom of religion." Spiritual freedom is a self-evident, individual right, not conditional upon joining a "church."

If spiritual dimensions of Cannabis are considered, then everyone's right to "every herb bearing seed" is a defense that even our outlaw governments would be loath to violate.

Each spring planting season that passes without the world's most useful agricultural resource is another step closer to the synergistic collapse of environment, economics, and social structures upon which everyone depends.

Don't tell us that we can't have Cannabis and then pretend to govern toward freedom. Without the freedom to farm, we are an extinctionistic species. Worse, we are a species without the least respect and gratitude to whatever Creator made both Cannabis and Homo sapiens.

That Michelle Rainey's life was leveraged against Marc's defense is another shameful chapter in the history of the so-called "drug war."

My deepest heartfelt sympathies go out to Marc's family and friends. That my country is imposing itself on the world in this way is cause for sadness and resolve to stop the mad machine that is working against our common freedoms.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Cannabis agriculture and the so-called "drug war" are fundamentally relevant to all of the global imbalances faced by mankind. Causal relationships between prohibition and climate change, the price and unavailability of biofuels, wars-for-oil, the black market, food insecurity, malnutrition, and essential resource disparity, form a complex tangle of problems that may be resolved with a relatively simple, common sense solution. "Freedom to Farm" is being demanded by ENCOD (www.encod.org) in Vienna this year at the United Nations UNGASS summit to review UN drug policies. Overlap between climate change, food security and nutrition, drug policy, biofuels production, and radical economic disparity must be considered at once if mankind is to be successful in addressing climate change in a timely way.

Based on the US model, these programs have failed miserably, inducing misery and eroding society in many ways in every country at every level. Prohibition has institutionalized harms far in excess of any that drugs themselves do. Perhaps the cruelest harm is to have induced essential resource scarcity, by criminalizing the world's most nutritious and potentially abundant food resource.

Unless people overcome the knee-jerk reflex that often occurs when the subject of hemp is raised, then one of the most effective strategies for mitigating climate change will continue to be dismissed without the regard that such a magnificent, beneficial agricultural resource deserves.

Cannabis vs. Climate Change

Cannabis is essential not illegal.

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Hemp harvesting in France

Here the spacing between hemp stalks is even more apparent. Inches apart, not feet.

Can you tell the difference...?

Marijuana plants are multi-branched, planted six feet apart.

"Swiss mix" marijuana

This is a field of marijuana. Note these are multi-branched, exclusively female, grown with plenty of room between each plant.

Harvesting Hemp, Noirmoutier, France 2003

This is "industrial hemp" grown in vast swaths, planted inches apart, pollen-producing males & seeded females mixed. Pollen from this field would make seeds in marijuana plants, rendering them much less salable on the black market. If the DEA really wanted to impact the marijuana trade they wouldn't be pulling up feral hemp in the midwest, they'd be encouraging American farmers to plant hemp, to naturally balance high- and low-THC producing strains of Cannabis.

"In God We Trust"

"Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!" -- George Washington in a note to his gardener at Mount Vernon (1794), The Writings of George Washington, Volume 33, page 270 (Library of Congress)

Mission Statement

The mission of the California Cannabis Ministry is to identify Cannabis agriculture as integral to a free society and essential for human survival.

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The California Cannabis Ministry is meant to serve everyone, as an individual expression of our Article One, Bill of Rights, "First Freedom." The freedom of religion afforded by the United States Constitution secures our natural, god-given, self-evident rights that are also also guaranteed by several international human rights treaties.

"Freedom of religion is the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It is generally recognized to also include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any religion. Freedom of religion is considered by many in many nations and people to be a fundamental human right." -- Wikipedia

Anyone who has genuine appreciation for the Cannabis plant, for any or all of its many uses and benefits, is reminded that deep in our hearts, we are all our own ministers. I trust that others will be inspired by my example, but everyone makes their own choices. California Cannabis Ministry encourages everyone to start their own individual ministries. I believe it is spiritually and legally meaningful for each of us to openly claim our rightful place in the most ancient, truly global Cannabis culture, even if doing so is judged an act of "civil disobedience" by unobjective courts.

It is recommended that you read this entire website for the research and knowledge being passed on. The THC Ministry website also offers a wealth of essential information. You are invited to write to projectpeace@gmail.com to subscribe to the ministry newsletter and join the discussion.

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Recommended Reading

National Institute on Drug Abuse, Final Report, 1991-1994 http://www.thc-ministry.org/NIDA_Report.jpg